Text: Luke 3:7-14; Book of Discipline (p. 55-56, 77-80, 105-146) We continue today by the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptist and a piece of scripture that we briefly touched during the Advent season. He has been calling people to repentance, asking them to change their hearts and their lives, and suddenly…
Ordinary Time
UMC 101: Summon to Grace, Growth, and Love
Text: Luke 3:15-18, 21-22, Book of Discipline pages 47-54 Every time we turn the pages from one calendar year to the next, it feels like a fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to revisit where we have been and where we are going. A few years ago, we took time as a congregation during…
Return. Repair. Restore
Text: Genesis 33:1, 3-5, 8-11; John 21: 1-6, 9-11, 15-17 Oh friends, on this All Hallow’s Eve we find ourselves with two ghost stories of our scriptures… Okay, okay, they aren’t exactly ghost stories. But they are about people who were lost, left for dead, and cast out. They are about relationships coming back from…
Let Go and Love
Text: Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 7-11; Matthew 19: 16-22 Over the last week or two, my husband and I have watched the first season of Netflix’s immensely popular Korean drama, Squid Game. It isn’t a show I would recommend you run home and watch… it is incredibly and senselessly violent… but as I thought about our texts…
Remember Enough
Text: Exodus 16: 1-18 Friends, over the next several weeks in worship, we are going to talk about how we connect our faith, our life, and our finances. And while on one very practical level our stewardship time helps our church leaders to set a budget for the coming year, there is a much bigger…
What Do You Need?
Text: Job 2: 11-13; 2 Timothy 4:9-13 I don’t know about all of you… but after watching Rev. Remington’s video, I need some French fries. “What do you need?” It is such a simple question. And yet actually taking the time to ask the question and listen for the answers… whew… it isn’t easy. You…
I See You
Text: 1 Samuel 1:1-18 Where does it hurt? I distinctly remember an incident when one of my nephews took a tumble and as soon as they hit the ground the wails and the tears began. I rushed over to offer comfort and care. Where does it hurt? I asked… And though they couldn’t form the…
Be Curious.
Text: John 1:43-51 I love the definition of curiosity that Dr. Nadella just offered to us. “Curiosity is asking questions with care and diligence. It is being willing to learn and unlearn and engaging with respect and care for the relationship.” We ask, because we care. As I thought about all of the possible topics…